Michellin X-Tour tires

Rotate pattern depends if you have directional or non directional tires.

 

Yep, non-directional. Anything goes! Everything is good now, grid. I'm back in space.

 

I went by the Toyota stipulation, have rotated just front to back, and vice versa. In other words kept them on the same side always. One advantage: only two of your rims tend to get road rash.

 

I wonder if there is any long-term test data on which tire rotation pattern is best for treadwear.
Straight rotation or the X pattern. The difference is probably minimal. And simpler to just do the front to back. (Or don't rotate them at all, as some guys swear by.)

I'm very curious to see how long my new Michelin Premier tires will last. Many reviews say they will not come close to the 60,000 mile guarantee. (But the gas mileage has not been affected. Holding steady at 55-57 mpg in the city. So that's good.)

I only have one wheelcover with curb rash. I bought 4 extra OEM wheelcovers off of eBay. Brand new. Cheap. A guy was getting rid of them.

 

I would swear at that.

Good to know. What tires were on before, and they were the from-the-factory tires?

Yeah new wheel covers through the dealership rival the cost of aftermarket alloy rims, terrible. I really have an "issue" with Toyota's utilitarian-looking alloys with wheel covers, I think they're marching to a different drummer: does anybody else do this?? I much prefer a decent looking bare alloy. Or a cheap steel rim with wheel cover, either will do.

They've managed to put five plastic pieces on the 17" rims too. Through dealership they're around $24 apiece (times 5!) per rim.

 

The original factory tires that came with the car: Toyo NanoEnergy A29. Or as one poster calls them, the "NanoCrappers."

I don't want to badmouth them too much, because some Prius owners love them. But I found those tires to often get squirly when driving on the freeway in those lanes with the rain grooves. And of course they were very loud (much more than the Michelin tires.) And several times I lost traction when starting out from a stop. Especially on a damp street. I'm no leadfoot, so that was very strange. Psi was set at specs.

Toyo has a new version now. The NanoEnergy 3. From the website:
"The third model in the NanoEnergy family benefits from an improved tire construction and a new polymer in the tread compound. Partly thanks to these, the tire has a longer tire life, better wet performance and lower fuel consumption than its predecessor."

 

Yes, the dealer price for one wheelcover was $110? $120? That was 2 years ago when I was looking.

I don't recall exactly, but I didn't pay more than $100 for the 4 new OEM wheelcovers, from eBay. Just got lucky. The guy sold them after only two months on his Prius. Perfect condition. I'm sure I will need one in the future.

 

I think it's our good friend RCO who said he doesn't rotate? I must admit, I will be hesitant to do it again.

 

I rented a new 2018 Prime Advanced (700 miles on odo) this past weekend. I liked most things about the car, but the noise from the Toyo Nano tires on anything but a smooth surface was terrible. They also seemed to wander at highway speeds. They did give a great 60 MPG at 70-75 mph. Lots of improvements in the gen 4 over my gen 3.

 

In January I had my old Bridgestone Ecopia low-rolling-resistance tires replaced with Michelin X-Tours at Costco. A month before I had gone in for a tire check, they told me I needed replacements, and as I was about to tell them to go ahead, I asked if they had any sales coming up. Lesson: ASK! The guy said "yes, next month Michelins are going on sale, and they're a better tire." So I waited, then went in to a different Costco to buy a new set of Michelins. They told me to get X-Tours for the Prius. I asked if they were comparable to the Ecopia's I had, because my mileage on typical drives was such that I almost always finished my tank of gas having averaged over 50mpg for the tank. (I reset whenever I fill up.) They said, yes, they're comparable, and you should get a softer ride. I didn't really care about that - I drove a Prius; it's all about the mileage.

Well, after getting the new tires and driving around for a bit I noticed my mileage wasn't as good. I couldn't finish a tank at even 50.0mpg anymore. 48 was now "good" and more typically I got even less. Since I don't put that many miles on the car, I wanted to drive it a little to make sure they didn't need a "break in" period or anything. Then I had some minor medical issues that took my attention for a few weeks. By the time I went back to Costco to complain and ask if I could trade in and get a good rate on the Ecopias, they said "Nope. It's beyond 30 days". The guy said I'd get better mileage after the tires wore down a little - not sure if he was just BSing. I do have them pumped up to 40psi (at least). Without that, I'd probably be lucky to get 40mpg.

After 10 years getting over 50mpg per tank, my friends, it's a hard pill to swallow, my friends, shamefully coasting into the gas station and seeing my mileage at 45, 46, or 47 something. Maybe it's time to go for a Prius Prime. ;-)

 

Update: After a few more weeks of disappointment, I called Costco Customer Service about it. I figured there was nothing they could do, since I didn't complain until after 30 days, but I wanted to tell them how upset I was about it. When I told them what the tire guy (manager?) told me - just that it was after 30 days so there was nothing he could do, the Customer Service rep seemed upset and a little incredulous. "That's all he said?!" I said yes. She told me he should have offered something to make it right and told me she was going to contact the store. The next day I received a call from the manager of the tire department at that Costco (not the guy who had told me there was nothing he could do). The guy offered to take the tires back and exchange them for the Ecopias I had liked. He said the cost would depend on how worn the new tires were, but after a couple of months they probably wouldn't be worn much.

I took the car in, the tires were hardly worn. There was probably a slight difference in the cost of the different brands of tires, but the bottom line is they replaced the X-Tours with Ecopias, and charged me about $36, I think. Well worth it to get my mileage back. Even ust driving home from Costco I noticed the mileage had improved already. After a couple of weeks, I took the car back for the recommended "torque check" on the lug nuts, and while I was there I had them pump up the pressure to 40 in each tire. Since then I've been getting usually around 50mpg per tank again, and I'm a happy camper (and driver). I was surprised and pleased at how Costco Customer Service made it right. I was very civil and friendly in reporting my disappointment, not expecting they'd really do anything, but I think part of the reason they did was because I didn't scream and yell and threaten - just told them I wanted them to know my experience. The woman I spoke with was very understanding, kind, and did make things right for me. Hope this report can help others who might find themselves in a similar situation - try contacting customer service, and good luck!